Tuesday, January 3, 2017

Portland Bloem, in my neighborhood!

I'd left Trader Joe's and was headed home. I let my eye wander to appreciate a recently painted building and it's cleaned up surroundings. That's when I saw this sign, and the name — Portland Bloem — rang a bell. Slowly it dawned on me, this was a business I was following on Instagram. A florist I think...

Continuing to gawk as I drove past, I saw the neon saguaro...okay that did it, I had to circle around...

The sign on the door (visible in the first photo) said "we will open on Thursday December 29th"... and that's what it was, December 29th. I wondered if that meant they were opening for the first time that day?

Nah, turns out they actually opened a few weeks ago...but still very new! I loved the simple accent on this grapevine wreath.

So it turns out my timing was poor and I walked through the door at the same time an engaged couple had a consultation scheduled. Con — I didn't get to visit with Vanessa (the owner) as long as I would have liked. Pro — I got to eavesdrop on a great conversation about wedding flowers!

Oh but get this — it turns out I've met the owner before, in my garden!

She was previously a gardener for McMenamin's and toured my garden in 2014 when Erich Petschke (Corporate Gardens Manager) brought a group of McMenamin's gardeners through on a private tour.

As I recall it couldn't have been a highlight for her — as far as the way my garden was looking — at the end of a hot busy summer and I only had a couple hours notice to spiff things up. But how do you say no to a man who has gone out of his way to answer pesky garden questions for years, AND took a Saturday out of his schedule to tour 85 Garden Blogger's (from around the country) through the Kennedy School gardens during the Portland GB Fling? You don't...it's that simple.

And now here I am standing in what I can only imagine must be a long time dream of one of those gardeners. And it's just blocks from my home and very near several restaurants we frequently visit!

Wait, what's this...ferns! What have I been saying? Ferns are the new "it" plant...don't you know.

Then again these guys don't appear to be giving up the ghost anytime soon.

I minor point of criticism? For $45 I'd want the soil to be covered with a decorative mulch.

If Vanessa hadn't been deep in conversation with a future bride and groom I would have bought one of those hexagonal "planters" on the left. Hmm, guess I'll just have to walk on over and make the purchase another day.

Walking out the door I spotted this very happy Agave desmettiana.

And back outside I must share that even before the noticing the sign I noticed the planters. They had me thinking of very similar planters at Xera. Those planters said something interesting is happening here...

Whether placed on purpose or by a passerby, this orange Cunninghamia (I think) branch added a certain mystique to the planting.

But wait, I've saved the best for last. See that big, empty space? It's not going to be empty for long...as come spring it will be filled with plants! YES! Right here in my neighborhood, a new nursery. I can't wait! Exciting things are happening...

That one may still be there but as I haven't been in downtown Santa Monica for a long while now, I can't say for certain. The nursery near our Santa Monica apartment was just off of Montana Avenue but, even before we moved out, it was closed. The area got trendy and land values jumped. It was the beginning of the end for me as far as Santa Monica was concerned.

For a few years there was a tiny florist with outdoor space that I used to drive by on my way home from work. And it was next to my favorite Southwestern restaurant. It was heaven. Every visit got me a helping of two of my favorite things. Start saving your allowance as you will need it with a nursery in the neighborhood.

Yay! So glad you found Vanessa! I kept thinking I would send you a little prompt to do a review of her place, but was waiting for her to spiff up her outdoor space. It will be fabulous, just wait! Vanessa is great, with or without the plants. :) --Julie

It's nice to see a new nursery, for a change, instead of one that's closing, especially one that looks to have an interesting selection of houseplants. It will be interesting to see what goes into the outdoor space. I'm intrigued by the Astrolepis sinuata being sold as houseplants. I wonder how well they do indoors long-term.

I've got two Astrolepis sinuata in my basement right now. They're still in their nursery pots (November purchase) and I didn't want to subject them to the cold. Of course they won't be there long term.

If there's another city that rivals Portland for great nurseries, I'd like to know. Around here, most small nurseries have long gone out of business. We simply don't have the gardening culture the PNW does, and that's very sad to me.